


In Shadows

by Suukarin



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Don't look too much into the hand-holding in chapter two, Gen, Genderless Frisk, I am a skeleton with standards, In which Frisk lives with the skeletons, In which Sans is reminded of a bad time, In which Sans really doesn't want to remember his associations with W. D. Gaster, Protective Sans, Skeleton Puns, there's no shipping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-22 16:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7445509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suukarin/pseuds/Suukarin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His friends would be safer, Sans realizes, if his skeletons could live in his closet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Who's the weird melty man?"

"Hm?"

Sans only glances at the human sitting on the floor for the briefest of moments before once again tapping away at his phone.

_hey bro why don't you like when i make jokes?_

"There's a weird... melty man in the woods," the human repeats, frowning as they find yet another quantum physics book contained within their joke book. "I see him sometimes when I'm walking alone and get lost, but he's never in the town... But you know everyone here, right? Do you know who he is?"

_YOUR JOKES ARE TERRIBLE AND UNHELPFUL AND NOT! FUNNY!_

"'Melty'? Kiddo, I know you're still kinda new to the Underground, but uh... you really think it's warm enough for anything to melt here?" Sans asks, his bones clicking against the phone's screen. "Heck, Papyrus still hasn't gotten that one puzzle to thaw out yet."

_really? that's so cold of you, bro. i think they can be quite humerus_

"Well, that's what he looks like!" the human huffs, slamming the book shut before standing up. "He looks all..."

The human wiggles around rather gelatinously, much to Sans' great amusement.

"...melty! And he never says anything to me, all he does is stare at me with his creepy eyes!"

_SANS!!!_

"Well of course he'd stare at you," Sans shrugs, his grin widening as he reads Papyrus' eloquent response. "He's probably jealous of all your sharply-defined edges, if you think about it! After all, life is hard without some... _definition._ "

The human huffs, which is good enough for Sans given how little effort he put into the joke.

"Sorry, kid," the skeleton shrugs, finally deciding a sincere answer was deserved. "'Melty' doesn't describe anyone I know. Maybe Papyrus would know; you can ask him when he gets back from his cooking lesson."

"Yeah... maybe," the human mutters, disappointment heavy in their voice. "Um... d'you have anything I can draw with?"

"You know where all the cool stuff is in this house, go ahead and knock yourself out."

Grinning, the human bounds up the stairs to Papyrus' room, and Sans takes the opportunity to respond to his brother's text.

_what? did that one not tickle your funny bone?_

_YOU ARE DISTRACTING ME FROM MY VERY IMPORTANT COOKING LESSONS WITH UNDYNE! BUT I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, WILL N_

Sans waits for the second half of his brother's text to arrive as the human, now laden with coloring supplies, plops down at the coffee table.

 _OT BE DISTRACTED ANY LONGER! UNDYNE CLEVERLY SUGGESTED I TURN OFF MY PHONE WHICH!_  
_I!_  
_AM!  
_ _DOING NOW!!_

Snickering mostly to himself, Sans types his response:

_me, distract you? i thought that was im-pasta-ble_

"Are you teasing Papyrus again?" the human asks, as though they can't already guess the answer to their own question.

"Who, me?" the skeleton replies, his permanent grin betraying the surprise in his voice. "I would _never_ do such a thing to my favorite brother."

"I thought he was your only brother?"

"Well, that means he has to be my favorite, doesn't it?"

The human rolls their eyes, but a smile spreads on their face regardless as Sans shoves his phone into his hoodie pocket, then closes his eyes.

He's almost completely drifted off, when--

"Um, Sans?"

"Mmnn?" the skeleton responds, too lazy to even turn his head towards the human.

"That, um, the melty man... Would you... maybe recognize him if I told you he talked in pictures?"

"Wha...? What do you mean, 'talks in pictures'?" Sans asks, feeling his spontaneous nap slipping away from him.

"Well, um... like, he doesn't _talk,_ right?" the human begins, chewing on the end of their pencil. "His mouth doesn't really move or anything, but... he makes these weird sounds, and when he does, these little pictures suddenly pop up in the air. But they're spaced like they could be words...?"

For a moment, silence fills the house before Sans heaves a defeated sigh.

"Still doesn't ring any bells," the skeleton says, already trying to doze off again. "But, uh, if you wanna draw a picture of what he looks like, I'll take a look at it when you're done, I guess."

"Okay, um..."

Satisfied by his own cleverness, Sans feels sleep settling in as he hears the human forcefully scribbling on their paper, mind slowly clouding once again...

_talks in pictures...?_

"Here!"

He feels the human standing over him, and, though a little more irritated than he'd like to admit, Sans finally opens his eyes again.

"You some kind of prodigy or somethin', kid?" he mumbles, forcing himself to sit up as he takes the picture from the human's hand. "That was quicker than I, uh, hoped you'd be. Alright, let's see what this melting man..."

Sans looks at the picture, and feels the marrow turn to ice in his bones.

"...looks... like..."

The human has no real talent for art, but even as just a scribble, there's no mistaking that empty, cracked grin, those vacant eyes, the _font--_

"What's, uh... what are these guys?" Sans asks, doing everything he can to keep his voice light as he gestures to the small scribbles all around the page.

"He uses different pictures every time I see him, um... except for those ones," the human explains, kneeling by the side of the couch and frowning at their art. "Every time I see him, he uses those first. Trying to think about him too hard makes my head hurt, and I get real dizzy, but I think those are right...?"

"Is... is that right...? Aha..."

"Do you know him?"

Sans is silent, eyes constantly re-reading the scrawled letters on the page.

HELLO, SANS

I CAN SEE YOU

"Human... I need you to listen to me very, very carefully," the skeleton finally speaks, not looking up. "Do not talk to him. Do not look at him. If you see him, run away. Be anywhere but where he is. Do you understand?"

THE DARKNESS IS CALLING, SANS

"Who is he...?"

_"Do. You. Understand?"_

Sans turns his head slowly, and the human cowers under the fierce blue glow from the skeleton's eye.

"Y... yes," they finally squeak out, still frozen in place even as they watch Sans slump back into the couch.

"Good! ...good. Then... there's nothing to worry about, haha. Kids like you shouldn't be roaming the forest alone anyway, y'know? That's how you, uh... that's how you run into spooky skeletons like my bro and I in the first place, and look what that's done to you! Ha, haha..."

"...Sans... who... who is that...?"

Sans says nothing as he clenches a fist, crumpling the paper in his bony grip.

THERE'S STILL WORK TO BE DONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _HELLO, SANS_   
>  _I CAN SEE YOU_
> 
> _THE DARKNESS IS CALLING, SANS_
> 
> _THERE'S STILL WORK TO BE DONE_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much for being a oneshot.

“BROTHER! HAVE YOU SEEN THE HUMAN???”

Sans groans, wondering what a skeleton has to do to get a decent nap in this crazy house.

“ _ Still _ no, bro,” he sighs, reaching for a couch cushion to cover his head. “I don’t think they’ve been home for at least a couple hours.”

“AND THEY DIDN’T EVEN SAY WHERE THEY WERE GOING?!”

“Not to me, bro…”

Papyrus storms into the living room, a perplexed expression on his bony face.

“BUT THE HUMAN HAS  _ NEVER _ BEEN LATE BEFORE!!” he declares, as though his entire world was ending. “WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO OUT AND SET UP NEW PUZZLES, SINCE  _ A CERTAIN LAZYBONES _ WHOSE NAME I WILL NOT MENTION DOES NOT WANT TO HELP!”

“I wonder who that could be,” Sans yawns placidly, closing his eyes once more.

“I THINK YOU KNOW VERY WELL WHO I AM TALKING ABOUT, SANS!” Papyrus huffs, crossing his arms. “BUT! THAT IS NOT THE POINT! THE POINT! IS! THAT I AM WORRIED ABOUT THE HUMAN!”

Papyrus instantly takes to pacing the living room, and Sans can almost hear the fretful expression on his brother’s face.

“WHAT IF THEY GOT STUCK AT ANOTHER FROZEN PUZZLE? OR WHAT IF THE GREATER DOG IS MAKING THEM PLAY OUT IN THE COLD? THE HUMAN  _ FEELS _ THINGS LIKE COLD, SANS!! WHAT IF -- WHAT IF THEY  _ CATCH _ A COLD?!”

“I dunno about the human, but I would also be  _ sick _ about being worried over, heh…”

“THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR JOKES, SANS!” Papyrus shouts, hands on his hips as he turns to glare at his brother. “IF THAT DOESN’T MAKE YOU WORRY, THEN -- WELL! WHAT IF! THE HUMAN IS LOST IN THE WOODS?!”

Sans allows a single eye to open, and he looks up at his brother.

“THE HUMAN TOLD ME THAT YOU TOLD THEM IT WAS DANGEROUS TO GO IN THE WOODS ALONE,” Papyrus declares, a triumphant note to his words. “BUT! THAT YOU DID NOT SAY TO  _ NOT _ GO IN THE WOODS! ...THOUGH THAT WAS PROBABLY WHAT YOU MEANT WHEN YOU SAID THAT, WASN’T IT, BROTHER?”

“...I thought they’d be smart enough to figure that part out,” Sans grumbles, finally sitting up. “ _ Alright. _ You win. I’ll help you look for the human, bro, but you guys owe me a full nap when this is all said and done.”

“I SUPPOSE I CAN AGREE TO YOUR DEMANDS, BROTHER!”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s just get this over with…”

* * *

 

_ alright, where did the little escape artist go? _

Sans looks around, having finally followed the trail of footprints to their very end amidst the trees.

_ ANY LUCK, BROTHER? _

Normally happy to hear the tinny tune of his brother’s text alert, Sans finds himself grumbling as he pulls his phone out of his pocket.

_ nope, the only trail i’ve found has… gone cold _

Keeping his phone in his hand, Sans decides to keep walking forward, looking around for any signs of the human amongst the densely-wooded forest.

_ BROTHER THIS IS HARDLY THE TIME FOR PUNS! I AM WORRIED! _

_ sorry bro. no i haven’t seen them yet _

As Sans hits send on his phone, the screen fuzzes over with static, then suddenly goes black.

“Aw, what the--” he curses, trying in vain to power it back on. “Come  _ on, _ you stupid piece of junk! Ugh, last time I get a phone from the garbage dump…”

Muttering under his breath, Sans shoves his phone back into his pocket....

And finally sees that he’s walking directly not over one, but two sets of footprints.

_...this one’s the kid’s, _ he realizes, recognizing the smaller set of prints as he instinctively starts following the tracks.  _ but who do these belong to? and where the hell did they come from if there was nothing leading up to them…? _

As Sans keeps walking, his mind keeps turning over ideas, until--

_...there was… only one set of footprints earlier. _

“N-No! Just… just let me go home already!!”

Sans immediately picks up the human’s voice, and immediately starts running in the direction he hears them yelling from.

“Hey, kid, you alright?!” he yells, not used to the feeling of panic rising up from within--

“S-Sans?! Wh-Where are you--!?”

Sans skids to a stop when the human’s voice suddenly comes from behind him, further away than before.

_ n-no way, that’s not possible…?! _

“Where you at, kiddo!?” Sans shouts, standing still but spinning around to look among the trees.

“S-Sans, help me--”

“I’m over--”

He can’t whirl around fast enough to keep up with where the human’s voice is moving to--

“ _ Here. _ ”

Sans jumps, turning on a single foot to spin a full one-eighty--

The human stares back at him, blank eyes sunken into their ghostly white face.

_ Sans… Sans… _

A chill runs down his spine as he recognizes those words, not the human’s and definitely not their voice--

“H-Hey, kid, you okay?” Sans asks, forcing himself to step forward, to put a hand on the human’s shoulder to make sure they don’t disappear. “C’mon, snap out of it, you’re… you’re giving me the creeps, haha. That’s, uh, pretty impressive for you!”

The human keeps staring, their eyes following Sans but still looking straight through him as though he isn’t even there…

“E… everything’s gonna be fine, okay?” the skeleton says, gently shaking the human as he forces a reassuring tone to his words. “C’mon… you, uh… you and me… let’s go back home, yeah? Papyrus is worried about you too, kid, and uh… you know how he gets when he’s worried…”

_ There’s still work to be done, Sans-- _

“ _ I’m not talking to you, am I?!” _ he finally yells into the woods, keeping his hand firmly on the human’s shoulder as he turns to shout at the invisible voice. “So how about you butt out and leave us alone, huh!?”

The silence thickens around him, and for a few moments, Sans feels a pair of invisible eyes fixed solely on him…

“...nnh… S-Sans…?”

Like shattering glass, the tension dissipates, and Sans turns just in time to catch the human before they fall face-first into the snow.

“Where… am I…?”

“Hey there, kiddo,” the skeleton says, relief flooding his voice as he helps the human stand up. “You had us worried sick, y’know? Well, Papyrus, mostly…”

The human looks around slowly, then up at Sans, their face still unnaturally pale....

“I… I was just trying to… go visit Toriel,” they stammer, their voice a chattering whimper as they shiver. “I just w-wanted to say hi, but… I heard something in the woods, and then… then…”

“Hey, hey, no worries, alright?” Sans reassures, not looking away from the human as he slowly walks them forward. “What’s important is that you’re okay. If you weren’t, well… Papyrus would have my head on a--”

As if on cue, a bright chirping tone comes from Sans’ pocket, and he instinctively reaches for his phone with his free hand.

_ YOU WILL LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE THEM, YES, SANS? _

_ BROTHER, THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO IGNORE ME! _

_ BROTHER, NOW YOU ARE WORRYING ME TOO… _

_ One missed call from Papyrus _

_ SANS, THIS IS NOT A FUNNY JOKE… _

“Well… he might have my head on a platter anyway,” Sans mutters as he one-handedly types a response.

_ sorry phone died. got the human heading home now _

“Sans, I’m… really, really cold…”

He doesn’t even hesitate before unzipping his hoodie, taking it off and draping it over the shivering human’s shoulders.

“You don’t get to say I never did anything for you,” he jokes as they finally reach a part of the woods he’s familiar with. “C’mon… let’s go home, yeah?”

The human nods, pulling Sans’ hoodie tighter around their shoulders as they follow alongside the skeleton.

_ OH, THAT’S GOOD! ARE THEY ALRIGHT? ARE THEY HURT? WHAT HAPPENED? _

As Sans pauses, thinking of how best to explain the strangeness that had happened, he feels the human carefully grab his bony hand with their ice-cold one.

_ long story. human is ok. meet you at home _

“C’mon, kid,” he says, not looking down at the human’s hand as he tucks his phone into the hoodie pocket. “You know it’s twenty gold for hand-holding, and thirty if it’s literal.”

“...just put it on my tab, then,” the human mumbles, not letting go.

Sans chuckles briefly, and the rest of their walk home is in peaceful silence.


End file.
